BEFORE IT BECAME TOO GREAT: A TRUE GLIMPSE INTO BASKETBALL'S FIRST FIVE SEASONS AND A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

At the beginning of the final decade in the Nineteenth century, an original and intentional game was created to be played during the wintertime. Though it simply contained a ball and two baskets, from the start it was great and quickly diffused throughout the United States. Before the NBA, NCAA, FIBA, NFHS, IHSAA, and all of the other entities, there was a single entity that oversaw basketball the first five seasons–the Young Men’s Christian Association, where the game was born. Seven months after the game’s creation, the state of Indiana proved a natural fit. Few know of the impact that A. A. Stagg had in the early game of basketball, near a lake in Wisconsin, as well as what the beginning years of the game looked like in the Hoosier state. After winning a July 4th, 1892 competition over many other states, the game found a special place in the hearts of young Hoosiers, which from that point forward, would continue to grow into a major facet of the State’s culture. Nothing could prevent its influence upon the Hoosiers. From the panic of 1893 to the invention of other games and a natural disaster in 1896, the game’s impact would be fully displayed before visitors from throughout the United States in a State Championship game.This is a true look at the first five seasons of basketball, including a great amount of previously unknown details and complementing notes for further research. Read more